DISEASES OF HORSES. 397 



heels, that would ofitself be an inevitable source of lameness. 

 Turning out to grass, after the horn is a little grown, first 

 with a bar-shoe, and afterwards with the shoe lettered on one 

 side, or with tips, will often be serviceable. A horse that 

 has once had corns to any considerable extent should, at every 

 shoeing, have the seat of corn well pared out, and the butyr 

 of antimony applied. 



" AN OVER-REACH is a tread upon the heel of the coronet 

 of the fore foot by the shoe of the corresponding hind foot, 

 and either inflicted by the toe, or by the inner edge of the 

 inside of the shoe. The preventive treatment is the bevel- 

 ling, or rounding off, of the inside edge or rim of the hind 

 shoes. The cure is, the cutting away of the loose parts, the 

 application of Friar's balsam, and protection from the dirt. 



" There is a singular species of over-reaching, termed 

 FORGING or CLICKING. The horse, in the act of trotting, 

 strikes the toes of the hind shoes against the fore one. This 

 noise of the clicking is unpleasant, and the trick or habit is 

 not altogether free from danger. It is most frequent in young 

 horses, and is attributable to too great activity, or length of 

 stride in the hind legs. The rider may do something by 

 keeping the head of the horse well up ; but the smith may 

 effect more by making the hind shoes of clicking horses 

 short in the toe, and having the web broad. When they are 

 too long, they are apt to be torn off when too narrow, the 

 hind foot may bruise the sole of the fore one, or may be locked 

 fast between the branches of the fore shoe." (Youatt.) 



THE BEARING REIN is a matter of much controversy, some 

 claiming that it should be entirely abolished, while others as 

 strenuously contend for its almost universal use. Nimrod, 

 who is deemed perfectly competent authority, insists on its 

 use with fast roadsters and coach-horses. With team-horses, 

 it may generally be dispensed with, and always should be in 

 ascending hills, as it materially diminishes their c opacity for 

 exertion. The fault in its use, is its excessive tightness, and 

 when standing, the horse ought never to be tormented with it. 



THE BIT is a frequent cause of injury to the mouth of the 

 horse, fretting and teasing him, and in many cases, inducing 

 permanent injury and viciousness. It should never be made 

 annoying to the horse, beyond the absolute necessity for his 

 proper restraint. An unruly stud may be controlled by passing 

 the rein from the ring on the off-side over the head and 

 through the left ring. This gives a purchase to the groom 

 which the horse cannot resist. Blinds have for a long time 



